TOCA Touring Car Championship

The second of Codemasters' budget racing releases, TOCA originally came out more than half a year before Colin McRae Rally and, despite sharing the same graphics engine, there are some major differences. To begin with, the cars are a lot blockier and harder to handle. The emphasis is very much on simulation, so you won't be able to turn round corners at top speed and it's all too easy to build up a nice lead only to steer slightly off the track and go straight into last place. At the same time there are distinct arcade features, such as the way you unlock tracks through building up points (you can only race in two of the nine to begin with), the incentive of bonus cars and the possibility of knocking other cars off the tarmac. This is definitely the lesser of the two racers, but still well worth a look, this is the one to go for if you don't mind slightly dodgy graphics, going round in circles and swearing a lot.

While it's no Colin McRae Rally (but let's lace it what is?) TOCA: Touring Car Championship isn't too tar behind. And for a fiver it's impossible not to recommend it to any driving simulation fan, as long as you can put up with some blocky visuals.

The cars are incredibly twitchy, so you'll probably find that you spend more time off the track than on it when you first start racing. However, if you're prepared to persevere then there are endless hours of fun to be had. There are plenty of incentives to keep you racing, as victories will unlock a variety of new cars and circuits. It won't be long before you realise that going round in circles has rarely been so much fun, or as cheap, as it is here.